Duel Master: Trials of the Kaijudo
by Freelancer 1989
Summary: This story is an OC spin-off of the Duel Master: Kaijudo Generations series written by Nolan Johnson, aka Shuriken16. I'd like to give a special thank you to him for okaying this project. If credit is to be given anywhere, it should go to him…
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

It is the year 2011 that the popular Japanese card game known as Duel Masters has finally returned to the shores of the United States. After the original cancelation back in 2006, the game has made a serious splash among lovers of games and trading cards. The Duel Clash Association has set its sights on making Duel Masters as popular in the U.S. as it is internationally. Fans of the game and anime were more than pleased with the return and the DCA's efforts to revitalize the franchise were successful…

Using the power of the five great Civilizations… Fire, Water, Light, Darkness, and Nature… duelists from around all across the states compete against each other in tournaments and in personal matches with friends.

However, unknown to many people outside of the DCA and their associates, there is more to this game than meets the eye… what the fans didn't know, or ever expected, is that what was portrayed in the anime…

A separate world, divided among five powerful civilizations, and the ability to summon creatures into our world…

May not have been just another Saturday morning cartoon…

"Michael, are you ready?" William called to his son.

"I'm coming, I'm coming" a twelve year old Caucasian boy ran to his father, "I'm ready to go dad"

"Got your deck, your glove and your ID?"

"Yep, yep, and yep" he had his deck on his hip, his ID in a brown wallet in his back pocket, and his glove in a small backpack with a binder of extra cards.

"Well, have fun at the tournament you two" Lisa, Michael's mother said as they headed for the car

"It's too bad Leon can't come too" Michael said as his father drove them to the stadium where the tournament was being held.

"Yeah, well Leon has family visiting…" William said, "I'm sure you guys can play together this weekend and then you can tell him all about the tournament"

"You're right" Michael smiled happily.

William smiled back… he was glad that his son had a friend like Leon. William and Leon's father, Tim, had been friends since they were in elementary school and practically grew up together. Their friendship had lasted for years and the two decided to raise their families together. Leon and Michael were both born around the same time and the two of them quickly became friends, eventually their bond become closer than two brothers. They did everything together; they went to the same school, lived right next door to each other, played together, did their school work together, and they even got in trouble together…

But what these two really loved to do together was to play games; board games, video games, card games, you name it… They were always up for a challenge… and their favorite was Duel Masters. Even when they stopped producing them in the United States back in 2006, they still played the game. And when the game finally returned near the beginning of 2011, both Leon and Michael were like a couple of eight year olds on Christmas morning… especially when they heard about the new league system that the DCA had established.

Michael, especially, couldn't get enough of the game. He participated in every tournament he could… and today, the DCA was holding a special promotional tournament, who ever won would receive a stack of new OCG exclusive cards. William agreed to let Michael participate in this tournament, provided he agreed to keep up with his chores.

It took thirty minute to get there, another five to find a parking spot, and about another ten to get Michael registered for the tournament.

While William returned to his seat in the middle of the stadium, a hotdog and soft drink in hand, Michael was already competing against his first opponent, a boy using mostly a Water Civilization deck.

"I cast Holy Awe!" Michael showed the spell to his opponent.

"Ouch, Holy Awe now taps all of Kenny's creatures, including those blockers he summoned the previous turn" the MC announced.

"Armored Blaster Valdios, double break his shields, Ike!" Michael turned his card sideways as his creature opened fire, blasting Kenny's last two shields away.

Kenny looked at his cards and gave a disappointed groan.

"No triggers, huh?" Michael smirked, "Well, time to wrap this up… Mini Titan Gett, Todome Da!"

"And Michael Scott advances to the next round!" the crowd cheered as Michael approached his opponent.

"Hey, good game" he smiled as he reached to shake Kenny's hand; Kenny smiled back and accepted the hand shake.

William smiled as he looked up at the brackets. With that win, Michael just earned himself a place in the final eight. As Michael got a drink to cool off, he noticed a man, probably around his father's age just standing in the corner… he didn't know why, but something about that guy was giving him the creeps. The man raised his head and glared at the twelve year old, Michael froze… it almost looked like he had a dark aura emanating off of his body. He glared furiously, but then his expression changed to a kind of smirk…

Michael wanted to back away from this guy, but his legs didn't want to listen to what his brain was telling them to do…

After what seemed like forever, the man finally walked off… without as much as a word.

Michael tried to move, but he seemed frozen where he stood.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, it's now time for the second round of the semifinals" the MC's voice said through the speakers in the lounge area, "Will the duelists for the second round please report to the dueling area"

"Michael Scott?" a woman's voice said as a hand appeared on his shoulder, causing him to jump.

"Yes?" Michael's heart was pounding in his chest.

"Are you alright" the woman asked, Michael looked at her and saw that she was wearing the DCA logo on her shirt.

"I'm alright, can I help you?" he said as he tried to steady his breathing.

"Um, you're needed in the dueling area" she said.

"Oh yeah, I'm coming" Michael said as he followed her to his respective side.

Michael strapped on his glove and entered the arena; his opponent was already standing on his respective table waiting for him. Michael shuffled his deck and placed it onto his table before looking up at the large monitor. A spinning coin appeared on the screen, a few moments later, it flipped and landed on heads, which meant that Michael would have the first move. He charged a fire card into his mana zone and called it a turn. He looked over at his opponent and froze immediately…

His opponent was the same guy from the lounge area… he smirked as he drew his card and charged darkness mana.

William didn't like this… that guy, whoever he was, gave him a really bad feeling. He hoped he was just being paranoid, but he had this strange feeling in his gut that something was going to happen… something bad.

As the duel progressed on, Michael managed to summon his creatures, but his opponent was having no trouble keeping the pressure on him… it almost seemed like he was toying with him the entire time. Michael was having difficulty making strategic moves correctly, and he seemed like he was distracted… scared even…

Michael currently had three shields and eight mana cards. He also had Twin Cannon Skyterror and Armored Blaster Valdios in the battle zone.

His opponent had four shields and eight mana cards as well. His side of the battle zone consisted of two Necrodragon Gilands, Necrodragon Jagraveen, and Dark Lupia.

As he reached for his deck to draw his next card, he realized his hand was shaking… his opponent just gave him a cold smirk.

Just who was this guy?

"I-I summon… Aegis, Sage of Fire and Lightning and Senatine Jade Tree" Michael placed his blockers into the battle zone, "T-Twin Cannon Skyterror, double break his shields!" Michael's voice carried fear with it as his creature roared and obeyed his command.

"Shield trigger: Terror Pit, destroy Aegis!"

"I end" Michael reluctantly said.

"My turn" he said as he drew, "I summon Bloody Squito"

"Now, Necrodragon Giland, Ike! Double break his shields!"

The dragon roared as it did as it was told, smashing two of Michael's shields. The frightened twelve year old brought his hands up to shield himself as the shattered pieces of the shields flew at him. Michael looked at his cards, no triggers… suddenly, he felt something warm sliding down the side of his face… Michael brought his hand to his cheek; a moment later he pulled his hand away and looked at it.

"What the!"

He was bleeding… his cheek had a cut on it, his shirt was ripped in several areas, and he felt a few grazes elsewhere on his body from where the shards had flown near him.

"I see you finally noticed" his opponent chuckled, "Makes this simple little game so much more interesting"

"What did you do?" Michael felt fear filling every part of his body as he saw blood slide down his hand.

"It's called a Kaijudo Duel… this is how duels were meant to be carried out" the man smirked

"What are you talking about?"

"Those who can summon real creatures into our world and control these beasts are known as Kaijudo Masters"

"Kai-judo… real creatures…" Michael couldn't believe what he was hearing, "But, it's just a tv show… how can-" he was cut off by the man laughing.

"You poor confused little creature…" he shook his head, "There is so much you don't understand… tell me, if it was just a 'tv show', then tell me, how did you get those wounds…"

How was all this possible? Was all of this really for real? Were those truly real monsters floating in front of him?

He looked back at his blood covered hand… he could feel his cheek still bleeding, his body beginning to ache slightly from the small cuts from the shield shards. He looked back at his opponent, that dark aura he had seen back in the lounge had returned.

Michael felt fear taking him; filling every part, every last cell in his body… tears began to form in the corners of his eyes. He was scared… more scared than he had ever been in his entire life.

"Necrodragon Jagraveen, Ike! Break his last shield!"

Michael cried out in fear as the dragon shattered his last shield.

"Michael!" William stood up, something wasn't right.

"Sh-Shield Trigger! Holy Awe!"

"I end my turn" he said without the slightest hint of worry in his voice.

"I draw"

"Well, come on kid… make my day" he smirked evilly.

"JUST GO AWAY!" Michael screamed.

Suddenly, Valdios moved, aimed his cannons, and unleashed a massive volley of cannon fire… without Michael giving it the order to attack. Valdios shattered the two shields, but did not stop firing… then without order, Twin Cannon Skyterror spread its wings and fired its guns all around the stadium.

Michael's opponent began to laugh loudly as Michael's creature's turned the stadium into a shooting gallery.

"Oh this is too perfect… seems your own powers have been awakened" he laughed as Valdios and Twin Cannon continued their rampage, "But it looks like you can't even control it…" Michael knelt down, his hands covering his head as tears streamed down his face, "Let me show you how a true Kaijudo Master controls his creatures… now my pets, ATTACK!" the three dragons roared fiercely as black and purple balls of light formed in their mouths, blasting the inside of the stadium with deadly beams.

Panic and chaos ensued as the people inside the stadium ran for their lives, desperate to get out of there. Yet William fought his way through the sea of panicking spectators… he had to reach his son, there was nothing in this world or the next that would make him abandon his son… even to save his own life. As William desperately tried to reach his son, the creatures continued to destroy the inside of the stadium, blasting large holes in the walls and ceiling, destroying entire sections of seats, debris flying in all directions.

As William finally got closer to the dueling area, a large chunk of a rafter broke free…

"Michael!" William called to his son.

"Dad?" he looked up as he heard his father's voice, but his relief quickly died as he saw the broken piece of the rafter falling straight towards him.

"DAD!"

"MICHAEL NO!"


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Alright, class dismissed" the teacher said, "And don't forget to do study for the quiz… if you forget, I'll make you do bunny hops with dumbbells!" she glared seriously as her students left for the day

"Man, Miss. Swann is so freaking sexy" A male student said

"She is very beautiful, but she kinda scares me…" Michael said

"Not to mention she comes up with some of the most random punishments" Leon added, chuckling slightly

"I so want to go out with her" the first student replied as he fantasized about being with their teacher

"Trust me man, I really don't think that's a good idea" Michael shook his head

"And give me one good reason why it's not…."

"Well I know one…" Leon said, "I heard the last guy from here that tried to ask her out, she made him squat hop fifty laps around the whole school campus while dragging a tire"

"Plus I heard a rumor that she got jumped by a punk last year… and she was about three seconds away from tearing this dude's arm out of his socket" Michael added, "From what I hear, if those cops hadn't shown up, she probably would have literally taken this guy's arm home with her!"

"Damn, that is so hot"

"And you're such an idiot" Leon shook his head

"I don't care, I'm gonna go for it"

"I'll alert the paramedics" Michael sarcastically replied, Leon laughed

The teenagers went their separate ways, Leon and Michael walked home together, laughing at those jocks

"I can't believe those idiots" they laughed

"Miss. Swan is a very beautiful woman…"

"Yeah, she is" Leon agreed with Michael

"But I think I'm more scared of her" Michael admitted

"She can be pretty scary" they laughed again

"Hey, wanna grab a bite to eat?" Michael asked

"Sure, I'm kinda hungry" Leon pointed to an Arby's

The two teenagers sat down after ordering their food. Five minutes later, their numbers were called and they got their meals

"So what's going on bro?" Leon asked as Michael took a bite out of his roast burger

"Not much, what's going on with you?" Michael swallowed his mouthful before speaking

"I've been thinking about starting a DM team and maybe start competing in the league"

"Well, good luck bro"

"And I was kinda hoping maybe you'd join my team bro" Leon proposed, Michael stopped and didn't respond for a few moments

"Sorry bro, you know I quit playing" Michael said as he took another bite

"Why did you anyway?" Leon asked, "I mean, DM used to be all you would talk about… then four years ago outta the blue, you told me you weren't going to be playing ever again" Michael didn't say anything, "Did something happen?"

Michael still didn't answer him

"Bro?"

"I'm sorry bro… but I really don't want to talk about it"

"Come on bro…" Leon placed his sandwich down, "It's been four whole years… and you haven't said a thing about it since" Michael looked at him, "Just tell me what really happened…"

Michael stayed quiet as memories of that day played in his mind

"Sorry Leon… but I really don't feel like talking about it"

Leon sighed in defeat and went back to his food. It had been four years since Michael went to that tournament, the DCA told everyone it was the result of a power surge that caused a serious mechanical failure which led to building being turned into a roaring inferno. Michael was a little crispy, but William, his father, had lost the use of his legs and had been confined to a wheelchair ever since. It was after that day, that Michael had told him that he was never going to play Duel Masters. Leon respected his decision, but he knew his brother well enough to know that there was something more going on here…

Leon wanted to know the truth… he wanted to know what really happened that day…

"I'll leave a spot open for you…" Leon said, "In case you ever change your mind"

"Thanks bro…" Michael said

"So, we still on for tonight?" Leon asked "It's Thursday, that means Brawl… I hope you're ready for this" Michael's expression changed to a small smile

"You're on bro… I gotta run a couple of errands"

"I'll catch ya later bro" Leon said as he and Michael did a fist bump

"Take care Leon, I'll see ya tonight" Michael said as they went their separate ways

* * *

_**Flashback**_

"_It was a tragic day here at the LA Duel Dome…" a female reporter spoke into her microphone, "Where just hours ago; the entire stadium was turned into a roaring inferno" the camera turned to the ruined stadium, small plumes of smoke could still be seen, "Fire fighters are still working to extinguish the remnants of the fire as rescue workers are still searching for any people who may still be trapped"_

"_So far, three people have been reported dead and dozens more were rushed to the hospital for injuries"_

_**End of Flashback**_

* * *

"Hey guys, I'm home" Michael said as he shut the front door

"Welcome home sweetie" Lisa welcomed her son home

"Hey little buddy, how was school?" William rolled up in his wheelchair

"I'm doing alright" Michael smiled as he slipped his backpack off, "School was more of the same… except this time Miss Swann is threatening to make us do bunny hops with dumbbells" Lisa and William burst out laughing

"That woman has a twisted sense of humor…" William chuckled

"Yeah, well I don't think she's joking" Michael said, "Remember what I told you about the last guy who asked her out from my school"

"Did she seriously make him drag a tire and squat hop fifty laps?" Lisa tried not to laugh

"Oh yeah, he was sore for a week" Michael laughed as he remembered him groaning throughout the hallways for that entire week

"So is Leon coming over tonight?"

"Yeah"

"So what's he been up to lately?"

"He's thinking about starting a DM team…" Michael placed his bag down as he went to the kitchen to get a glass of water

"Really?" William looked at his son

"And he really wants me to join…" he said as he took a sip of water

A silence followed for a minute…

"You haven't told him, have you?" Michael didn't answer his mother's question

"I think you should tell him…" William rolled up next to his son, "It's been four whole years"

"And what am I suppose to tell him…" Michael placed his cup down, "That what really happened that day was like something out of an anime… that I ended summoning real creatures and that they destroyed that whole place!" Michael's fist became tighter and tighter, "That everything that happened that day was my fault!"

"Michael, none of that was your fault!" his father grabbed him by the hand

"Tell that to the people who died that day…" Michael said coldly before heading up to his room

"Michael, wait…" Lisa called out before her son closed his door

Lisa turned to her husband

"What are we going to do?" Lisa asked as she sat down on the couch

"I don't know…" William moved next to her, "It's been four years and he still can't let it go"

"What happened back then was just terrible… and I know he's been pretty broken up about it…" Lisa grabbed his hand, "But I think seeing you in that wheelchair is what's really getting to him"

William lowered his head

"Seeing all those people get hurt was bad enough, but I think the fact that somebody that he loves got hurt trying to protect him is what's really tearing him up inside"

"All that guilt… over something he had no control over" William whispered

* * *

_**Flashback**_

_Michael groaned as he woke up to find himself in a hospital bed_

"_How are my husband and my son?" Michael heard his mother's voice_

"_Your son has some burns and scrapes, but he's more or less unharmed" the doctor replied, "He's got some minor head trauma, but he'll be alright"_

"_And my husband?"_

"_I'm afraid your husband is in worse shape... I'm afraid the trauma he suffered damaged the nerves in his spine and legs" the doctor said, "I'm sorry…"_

"_You don't think he'll make it?" the fear of losing her husband was present in her voice_

"_He's been stabilized and we think he'll make it, but I'm afraid he won't be able to walk again… he'll have to spend the rest of his life in a wheel chair" the doctor lowered his head as Lisa broke into tears_

_Michael lay there as the reality of what had just been said sunk into his mind. Tears formed in his eyes as he covered his head with the blanket and cried_

_**End of Flashback**_

* * *

Michael sat on his bed, his legs tucked in close to his chest, his face buried into his knees, tears rolled down his face as the memories of that day continued to play in his mind. It was his fault that all those people got hurt… his fault those people died… his fault that his father would never walk again

And yet, not a single person blamed him for what happened… not even once… no one had said a single bad thing about him

Suddenly a knock came at his door…

"Michael?" he heard Leon's voice, "You in there bro?" he slowly opened the door to see Michael sitting on his bed pretty normally

"Hey Leon" he smiled at his friend

"You ok over there?" he asked, slight concern in his voice

"Yeah… you ready for this?" Michael got up to walk out into the game room where the Wii system was

"Bro… are you crying?" Leon noticed tears in his eyes

"Who's crying…? I just got something in my eyes" Michael wiped his face, "Stupid thing won't come out"

Leon just looked at him…

"Come on… let's do this" Michael smiled sincerely at him, "You ready?"


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Alright students, I'm putting all of this on your next test…" Miss. Swan said, slamming her hand against the blackboard, "And since I'm telling you exactly what's going to be on it, there isn't any reason you should get it wrong."

As the class copied down the notes from the blackboard, Michael let out a quiet sigh and stared out the window. He wasn't really paying attention to the lesson at all… his mind wandered as he gazed at blue sky…

"_Come on bro… it's been four whole years… and you haven't said a thing about it since" _Leon's words from yesterday echoed within his mind, _"Just tell me what really happened…"_

_**Flashback**_

"_You haven't told him, have you?" Michael didn't answer his mother's question._

"_I think you should tell him…" William rolled up next to his son, "It's been four whole years"_

"_And what am I suppose to tell him…" Michael placed his cup down, "That what really happened that day was like something out of an anime… that I ended summoning real creatures and that they destroyed that whole place!" Michael's fist became tighter and tighter, "That everything that happened that day was my fault!"_

"_Michael, none of that was your fault!" his father grabbed him by the hand._

"_Tell that to the people who died that day…" Michael said coldly before heading up to his room._

_**End of Flashback**_

"_Should I really tell him?_" Michael asked himself within his mind, "_There's no way he'd ever believe me…_"

"You sure look comfortable…" Miss. Swan's irritated voice knocked Michael out of his daze, "My class is apparently very boring…" Michael cringed with fear as she spoke to him, "Sorry I'm such a bad teacher…"

"Me too…" Michael's fear and nervousness was obvious in his voice, "Wait, I didn't mean that! I meant to say that-"

"_**Ding, Ding, Ding, Dong!" **__The sound of the bell ringing echoed throughout the classroom._

"Saved by the bell… literally" Miss. Swan giggled, "You lucked out, Michael Scott…" Michael let out a breath of relief, "Next time, I'll make you scrub this entire classroom from top to bottom."

"Yes Miss Swann" he said as he gathered his belongings

"Hold it right there… I need to talk to you for a second" Miss Swann placed her hand on his shoulder

The rest of the class cleared out as Michael sat back down

"What's going on with you?" she asked

"What do you mean?" Michael looked at her

"You seem like you're really distracted…" Nichole Swann said to him, "Is something going on?"

"Not really" he replied before looking down at his deck

"If you need someone to talk to, you can talk to me" Michael looked at her oddly, "Hey, I may not look it, but I can help people with their problems" she smiled at him, "So tell me what's going on…"

"It's nothing you need to worry about…" he answered, "I just have a lot on my mind"

"Well whatever is going on with you, try to figure it out soon" she replied, "Next time you might not be so lucky… and you will have to face your punishment" she smirked, Michael didn't like the sound of that, "Just all joking aside… if you need to talk to someone, I'm not bad at listening" Nichole smiled sincerely

Michael was caught a little off guard… she didn't look scary like she normally did. That smile of hers… she actually looked pretty cute right now, he blushed slightly

"Now what are you waiting for… get outta here, or do you want to clean the teacher's restrooms?" Miss Swann returned to her usual tone

"No thank you…" Michael quickly got out of his seat and left the classroom, now that was the Miss Swan he knew and was afraid of

"Works every time" she giggled

Michael took his usual route home, but soon he felt something tap him from behind

"Hey bro" Leon greeted him, "So what did Miss Swann say to you?"

"Oh hey bro…" Michael replied, "I'm not in trouble if that's what you're asking"

"Really?" Leon was a little surprised

"Yeah, she just told me that next time I might not be so lucky" he chuckled slightly

"Now that sounds like Miss Swann" Leon laughed

"Yep…" Michael agreed, "Well, I gotta get home"

"Hold up a sec…" Leon stopped him, "I want to to meet some people"

"Where are we going?" Michael asked as Leon pulled him along by his hand

Leon eventually led him to the LA TCG Tower… Michael stopped and freed his hand

"What are we doing here?" Michael didn't like the thought of going inside

"Just come on…" Leon said, "I want you to meet them"

"Them…?" Michael looked at him oddly

"I told you I was starting a team…" Leon explained, "I want you to meet the other two members of my team so far…"

"I don't know about this bro…"

"Please…"

"Oh alright…" Michael reluctantly agreed

They entered the tower… Michael looked around. It had been four whole years since he had last set foot in this place… lot had changed, but a lot had also not changed…

The basic layout of the placed had changed, but it was still packed with people… children, teens, adults, even an old man… and all of them were enjoying playing a game they loved

Leon led Michael through the crowd of people to where the K-Terminals were

"So where are these team members of yours?"

"Right over there…" Leon pointed to a terminal; inside was a girl with green eyes and brown hair that stopped at the base of her shoulder blades dueling against a guy. Behind the girl was another girl, she had very long blonde hair that stopped at her knees and blue eyes

"Valdios, double break his shields, Ike!" the 16 year old girl commanded, turning her card sideways, "Rothus the Traveler, break his last shield" an armored robot with track wheels raised its arm cannons and open fired, destroying the opponent's last shield

Her opponent gave an annoyed growl

"Bolshack Dragon, finish it, Todemeda!" the massive dragon roared loudly before unleashing a column of flames at its master's opponent

"Good Game" her opponent said

"Yeah, good game" the brown haired girl nodded her head

"That makes three in a row" the blonde haired girl said

"What's her name?" Michael asked, pointing to the brown haired girl, "She's beautiful…" Leon burst out laughing.

"Trust me bro, she'd tear you apart" Leon placed his hand on Michael's shoulder.

"Her name!" Michael said in an annoyed tone.

"Her name is Rachael West"

"Haven't I seen her around school?" she did look familiar to him.

"Yeah, she's in Miss Swann's class with us, plus she's known as the Fiery Amazon at our school" Leon answered him

"Wait… she's the Fiery Amazon?" Michael was surprised by his words, he heard some dude grabbed her butt last week and asked her out; she gave him a black eye and a busted nose

"Huh, oh hi Leon" the blond girl waved

"Leon, how've you been?" Rachael smiled

"Doing alright, how about you?" Leon greeted her

"I'm alright" she replied.

"By the way, who's your friend there?" the blond girl asked.

"My name is Michael Scott; it's nice to meet you" Michael introduced himself.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Alexis Twilight" she said very politely.

"Twilight… that's an interesting name" Michael commented.

"Yeah, I know…" she giggled, "But I like it" she smiled.

"Name's Rachael West, nice to meet you" Rachael extended her hand

"Pleasure's all mine" Michael shook her hand.

"You a duelist?" she asked.

"I stopped playing a long time ago…"

"Really?" Alexis was surprised by his words.

"Why did you quit?" Rachael asked.

"It's complicated…" Michael replied.

"What happened?"

"No offense... but I really don't like to talk about it"

"Bro, please…" Michael looked back at Leon, "Just tell me what happened…" Michael turned away as a memory of that day played in his mind, only to have Leon grab his shoulder and turn him back around, "What happened!" Leon's tone had become much more serious, he was tired of asking nicely… he wanted answers, now!

"I don't wanna talk about it!" Michael's tone had become much louder and angrier.

"What could have been so bad?" Rachael said, "You sound like you did something terrible"

"You know, talking about it might help you deal with this problem" Alexis took a step closer.

"It's not that simple!" Michael growled, "Why can't you just drop it!"

"Bro, I'm not dropping this!" Leon grabbed Michael by the shirt, the two glared furiously at each other

"You just don't know when to let something go do you…?" Michael said angrily to his brother

"You know I can be just as stubborn as you are…" Leon replied with the same tone of voice as his brother

Michael could tell by that look in Leon's eyes… he wasn't going to let go until he got the truth…

Michael finally sighed in defeat…

"Do you remember that tournament I went to back in 2011?"

"Yeah…"

"Something terrible happened that day…"

"I heard about that… wasn't there some kinds mechanical malfunction that caused the whole place to-" Alexis remembered what the news had said, only to be cut off midsentence by Michael

"No you're wrong!" Michael raised his voice, "It wasn't some malfunction…"

"Then what the hell happened?" Leon asked.

"A kaijudo duel…"

"Wait… like in the anime?" Rachael was confused, "You do realize that isn't real right?"

"Why do you think the game was canceled so suddenly back in 2006?" Michael glanced over at Rachael, "Rumors were spreading all across the entire planet… of people summoning real creatures into our world."

"Real creatures… how is that even possible?" Alexis was still in disbelief.

Everyone had heard about these rumors but usually dismissed them as just stories.

"I don't know… but that information came straight from a friend of my father who works directly for the DCA…" Michael replied, "The DCA took these rumors and used them to reenergize and create the game we have now"

"So, all those rumors were really true…" Rachael still couldn't believe all of this.

"I know, it sounds like something straight out of an anime or a manga… but believe me, it's the truth."

"So, you're saying that…" Leon wasn't sure he liked where this was going, Michael nodded.

"The guy I played against in the final eight initiated a kaijudo duel" Michael's mind was reliving those memories, "I didn't realize it until I felt blood sliding down my face… a shard from one of my shields cut my cheek…" Michael placed his hand over that spot where it happened.

"Do you know how it feels to have three very real, flesh and blood dragons staring you down?" Michael asked them, "I was scared out of my mind…" Michael shook his head, "No, I think that would be an understatement… I don't think I could have been anymore scared…" Leon, Alexis, and Rachael stayed quiet as Michael continued his story, "This guy, whoever he was, was a real Kaijudo Master… and he didn't care about putting other people in danger" "I still don't even know how I did it, but somehow I accidentally tapped into my own kaijudo powers and I ended up bringing my own creatures into our world… when my turn came around, I just wanted this guy to go away and then all of a sudden, my creatures started attacking on their own… and they didn't stop…"

"What do you mean?" Leon asked

"Valdios started firing his guns and broke the guy's two shields, but then it didn't stop and turned loose on the stadium" Michael answered his question, "Then Twin Cannon started shooting his guns… I had no control over them at all" Michael's fist started to clench, "And the guy just started laughing, like it was all just a joke to him… he turned his creatures on the stadium too" his fist became tighter by the second, "It was complete and utter chaos after that… I remember people running and screaming for their lives, but I was too scared to move, I remember hearing my father calling my name, but when I looked up I saw a piece of one of the rafters falling straight at me…"

"I must have passed out or something, because the next thing I knew I was in a hospital bed." Michael continued, stopping for a moment to breathe, "I heard my mother talking to a doctor and he told her that dad probably never walk again… that he would spend the rest of his life in a wheel chair" Michael said as he tried to hold his tears back, "Mom wouldn't stop crying…"

"Oh man…" Leon whispered.

"But you know what… no one has said a single bad thing about me… not even once… I think I'd feel better if they all just blamed me for the whole thing…" Michael said, "If they'd just say it's my fault that all those people got hurt…" Rachael's fist clenched harder, "If they'd just say it's my fault that my father will never walk again…"

"JUST STOP IT!" Rachael finally shouted as she punched Michael in the face

Alexis gasped as Michael fell backwards onto his backside. Leon was surprised that she would actually punch him. Rachael glared angrily at Michael rubbed his sore cheek

"What the heck was that for?" Michael asked

"Are you really that thick headed?" Rachael's anger was obvious in her voice, "You've been beating yourself up over a freak accident that wasn't even your fault!"

"How would you know how I feel?" Michael said coldly as he got to his feet and turned to leave

"Now hold it right there!" Rachael shouted, "You might just be right about that… maybe I don't know how you feel, but are you so sure you know how your parents feel?"

Rachael's words made him flinch

"How do you think it makes them feel to see their son so miserable?" Rachael stepped forward, "Don't you think your parents want to see their son happy… don't you think they want their son to smile?"

"Your father didn't care about what happened to him, all that mattered to him was protecting his little boy" Rachael's tone had become less angry, "Your life was more precious to him than his own…" Michael began to slowly clench his fist as her words continued to sink into his mind, "Maybe you should stop feeling sorry for yourself and start thinking about the feelings of the people who love you…"

Michael clenched his fist tighter before releasing his grip… he left without a word… a single tear slid down his face… Leon was about to go after him, but Alexis placed her hand on his shoulder and shook her head.

"I think he needs time to think…" Alexis said to Leon.

"What he needs to do is get it through his thick head that what happened wasn't his fault and just move on with his life" Rachael said in a slightly annoyed tone.

"Did you really have to punch him?" Alexis asked.

"He deserved it…" Rachael glared in Michael's direction, "Words aren't going to work… and if you ask me, it's about time he got some sense knocked into him."

"Even so, that might have been a little harsh…" Alexis replied.

"He can't keep running away from his problems…" Rachael returned to her deck, "He's going to have to face the music and deal with it."

"I hope you're right…" Leon said as Michael disappeared out the door.

Michael's walk home was a long and quiet one; Rachael's words kept running through his mind… despite his efforts to drive them out.

What she said back there… could she have been right?

Michael tried not to think about it, but couldn't get it out of his mind… He swore that he would never go back… he hurt too many people that day and he didn't want something like that happening again…

But what if they were right… what if what happened really wasn't his fault?

Then why did he feel so guilty? Why was their still all of this pain in his heart?

Why…

After what seemed like an eternity of walking, Michael finally arrived home. He gently opened to door and heard voices coming from the living room… He heard his mother, father, and even Leon's parents talking…

After closing the door as quietly as possible, he moved closer to listen, but stayed behind the wall so they wouldn't see him

"So Michael still hasn't been able to let it go?" Tim, Leon's father, asked

"No…" William replied, "He still holds himself responsible…"

"The poor dear…" Trudy, Leon's mother, said

"I just wish he would stop blaming himself…" Lisa said, her voice showed concern in its tone, "I hate seeing him so miserable over all of this"

"I know what you mean… I miss seeing our sons having fun like they used to when they were kids" Trudy replied

"I want my son to smile again… I want to see him smile like he did back then, so happy and full of life" William said, lowering his head, "I can't stand seeing him like this… so miserable and full of guilt" William slowly began to clench his fist, "If I could take all of that sadness and guilt and bear them in his place, I'd do so in a heartbeat… just like back then" he remembered what happened that day, "I'd gladly give Michael my life…"

"I hear what you're saying old buddy…" Tim looked to his friend, "If it had been Leon there, I would have done the same thing you did and not care for one minute about myself…"

"I've been doing some research... and I've discovered that there is a new type of surgery out there… one that could possibly repair the damage to the nerves in my spine and legs" William explained

"Really?" Everyone was surprised by William's words

"Yeah, but unfortunately… the whole thing itself is still in its experimental stages" William's tone changed, "And there is a chance that it won't work at all… or worse…"

"And you're willing to take that risk?" Trudy asked

"If it will help Michael to move on…" William looked at her seriously, "Then yes… I'm willing to take the risk"

"How much would this cost?" Lisa asked, William didn't answer her question, "There's no way we can afford something like this…"

"I just want Michael to move on with his life…" William turned to his wife, "And if this will help him do that… then I'll think of a way to make this happen"

Everyone suddenly heard something fall to the ground and the front door open and slam shut. Lisa and Tim got up to see what it was…

Michael's school backpack…

Lisa ran to the window and saw Michael running away from the house…


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The last glimmer of sunlight had finally faded over the horizon as the night became to settle in. All was quiet and calm in the streets of the neighborhood community, a gentle breeze was blowing through the night air as a 16 year old boy ran through the empty streets, leading away from his neighborhood.

"_Michael, none of that was your fault!" his father grabbed him by the hand_

"_Tell that to the people who died that day…"_

"_I don't wanna talk about it! Why can't you just drop it!"_

"_Bro, I'm not dropping this!" Leon grabbed Michael by the shirt, the two glared furiously at each other._

"_You just don't know when to let something go do you…?" Michael said angrily to his brother_

"_You know I can be just as stubborn as you are…" Leon replied with the same tone of voice as his brother_

"_I think I'd feel better if they all just blamed me for the whole thing… If they'd just say it's my fault-"_

"_JUST STOP IT!" Rachael finally shouted as she punched Michael in the face_

"_Are you really that thick headed?" Rachael's anger was obvious in her voice, "You've been beating yourself up over a freak accident that wasn't even your fault!"_

"_How do you think it makes them feel to see their son so miserable?"_

"_I hate seeing him so miserable over all of this…"_

"_I can't stand seeing him like this… so miserable and full of guilt."_

"_Don't you think your parents want to see their son happy… don't you think they want their son to smile?"_

"_I want my son to smile again… I want to see him smile like he did back then, so happy and full of life."_

"_Your father didn't care about what happened to him, all that mattered to him was protecting his little boy."_

"_If I could take all of that sadness and guilt and bear them in his place, I'd do so in a heartbeat… just like back then"_

"_Your life was more precious to him than his own…"_

"_I'd gladly give Michael my life…"_

Finally… exhaustion began to take its toll and he began to slow down. His long run finally came to a stop in front of a street light post. Michael tried to catch his breath; his labored breathing was quite loud.

"_Maybe you should stop feeling sorry for yourself and start thinking about the feelings of the people who love you…"_

"Damn it… what the hell have I been doing!" Michael slammed his fist against the light post, "She was right… Damn it all, she was right!" he felt rage boiling up in him, "Mom, Dad, I'm so sorry… all I've been doing is making things worse for them and dad's suffered enough already."

"God damn it, What an Idiot!" Michael punched the pole hard again, "I was too busy feeling sorry for myself, I didn't even think about what I was doing to them. Leon, I'm sorry…" he bit his lip hard, his teeth driving deeper into the flesh of his lips

"Damn… Damn, Damn, Damn, DAMN!" Michael shouted into the heavens above, driving his fists hard into the pole as the sound of vibrating metal echoed, "DAMN, DAMN, DAMN, DAMN, Damn, damn…" Michael kept slamming his fists into the pole, before finally sliding to his knees and bursting into tears

The low rumble of thunder echoed through the night air. Rain drops finally pierced the clouds and fell to the ground below. Rain water mixed with tears as Michael just stayed still, continuing to cry. His clothes were getting drenched but he didn't even acknowledge it.

Suddenly, he heard the rain hitting something… keeping the rain from falling on him.

"Are you alright?" a woman's voice asked, Michael raised his head and looked behind him.

He saw a woman, short brunette hair, blue eyes, and was dressed in formal office attire, carrying a large black umbrella in her left hand. Michael didn't say a word as she looked at him with a look of concern in her eyes.

"Are you lost?" she knelt down next to him, she could easily see pain and hurt in his eyes

Michael looked away from her and lowered his head once more.

"Come with me…" she said, gently grabbing his hand with her free hand, "You're just going to freeze in this weather." the teenager turned to her once again before slowly raising to his feet and following her to her car.

Fortunately for her, she still had a couple of towels in the back seat from the pool party yesterday. She quickly laid them across the seats before putting the soaked teenage boy into the car. After getting into the car herself, she started the engine and drove off. It was a long quiet twenty minute drive; she tried to spark up a conversation…

"Are you alright back there?"

But the teenage boy just sat there, staring at the floor of the car… it was almost like he was in another world.

"Here we are…" she said as she pulled the car into the drive way of a large house

The inside of the house was even nicer than the outside. As they entered through the front door, a European woman in her twenties walked up and greeted them

"Welcome home, Ms. Sherry" she said

"Thank you Maria" Sherry replied

"I see we have a guest madam" Maria noticed the ripping wet teenage boy behind Sherry

"Can you bring me a towel or two?"

"Of course" Maria walked off while Michael continued to drip water on the tile floor

"I'm sorry…" Michael finally spoke

"Hey, it's alright" Sherry said as Maria handed her a large towel, "Let's get you dried off"

Maria could see the boy was shivering and wondered just how long he had been out in the rain. His clothes were completely soaked; she also noticed his hands were bruised up around his knuckles…

"What were you doing out in the rain" Maria asked, Michael didn't answer

"Let's get you out of these wet clothes before you catch a cold" Sherry led Michael to another room.

They entered into a rather large bedroom with an equally large bathroom. Michael assumed this was the master bedroom and bathroom.

"Here, why don't you change out of those wet clothes and take a nice hot shower to warm up" Sherry said, placing the towel on the sink counter, "I'll see about getting your clothes dry"

"I'm sorry about all of this…" Michael said as she went back into the master bedroom and pulled out a rather large shirt and a pair of sweat shorts.

"You don't have to apologies" Sherry smiled back at him, "Here, my brother left these behind last time he was here… it's a little big, but it should work while we dry your clothes" she placed a hamper outside the door and left.

A moment later, Michael turned on the shower and removed his wet clothes, placing them into the hamper. Sherry returned 5 minutes later and took the hamper to the laundry room to be dried. It was a good twenty minutes before Sherry and Maria heard the shower turn off.

"Are you feeling any better?" Sherry asked as he came out wearing the clothes she had loaned to him

"A little…" Michael answered as he adjusted the shirt, it was very large

"Oh, I see we have a guest" a man with short black hair was standing at the front door with a wet umbrella

"Hello" Michael said as the man removed his jacket and placed it in a closet

"So what's your name young man?" he asked

"My name is Michael Scott"

"I'm Edward Alvarez" he said, "It's nice to meet you" they shook hands before moving to the living room

"Here, this should help warm you up" Maria said as she handed him a cup with steam coming out of the top

"Don't worry its hot chocolate." Sherry smiled, Michael took a sip

"Ow!" Michael pulled the cup away

"Be careful… it's fresh"

Michael blew on it and took another sip

"Wow, this is really good" this tasted better than the regular powder stuff you buy at the store

"My grandmother's old recipe" Maria smiled, "She used to make it for us all the time"

"Well she knew how to make some good hot chocolate" Michael said as he took another drink

"So tell me, what were you doing out in the rain?" Sherry asked

"I just didn't want to go home…" Michael sat down on the couch, "All I've been doing is hurting them…"

"What do you mean?" Sherry moved next to him

"My dad got hurt protecting me and I've been too busy feeling sorry for myself to see how much I've been hurting my mom and dad." tears formed in his eyes, "My family has suffered enough already and all I've been doing is making things worse for them" Michael placed his drink down on the coffee table, "I've been such an idiot"

"You shouldn't talk like that-" Sherry said

"But it's true!"Michael raised his voice, "I've been a terrible son and my parents deserve better than that" he said as the tears finally began to flow down his face, "They were talking about a surgery that might be able to help my dad get his legs back, but there's no way we can afford something like that"

"I just wish I could make up for everything… just a way to say that I'm sorry…" Edward and Sherry looked to each other

"Tell me young man, do you play Duel Masters?" Edward asked, Michael looked up at him

"I'm hosting a tournament in five months" Edward handed Michael a laminated card with the DCA's logo on it, "The tournament will be set up by the DCA's A Rank standards and a large amount of prize money will be awarded to the winner" he explained as Michael wiped the tears from his eyes, "The amount should be sufficient to pay for that surgery for your father if you can win"

"Why are you doing this?" Michael looked at him, "I only just made it to C Rank the day before I stopped playing and you want me to play in an A Rank tournament?" he couldn't believe what he was asking, "Why do you think I can do this?"

"It's my tournament; I can invite whomever I wish" Edward smirked, "Only those with that invitation will be allowed to compete"

"But, I can't do this…" Michael told him, "I haven't picked up a deck in four years… I can't compete with these guys"

"You wanted a chance to apologies to your family and friends, don't you?" Edward said to him, "You wanted a way to show how sorry you are…" Michael didn't know what to say, "The prize money from this would be enough to pay for your father's surgery. This is a once in a life time chance and if I were you I wouldn't pass it up"

Michael looked down at the invitation

"Now are you fit to compete… or should I take that invitation back?"


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Urth, Purifying Elemental evolve into Alcadeias, Lord of Spirits" Alexis said as her creature evolved into a giant figure with angelic wings, "Alcadeias, double break his shields, Ike!"

The angelic creature fired a powerful beam of light from his palm, shattering the opponent's last two shields. He had two shield triggers, Terror Pit and Critical Blade, but thanks to Alcadeias, they were rendered useless.

"Syforce, double break shields, Ike"

Another trigger, Natural Snare… but again, Alcadeias' power protected her creatures from the card's magic

"Kolon, the Oracle, finish this" Alexis tapped her creature, "Todomeda"

"Nice move Alexis" Rachael smiled

"You played well, thank you for a fun game" Alexis thanked her opponent

Rachael stretched her arms and legs and looked around for a new opponent. But what she saw instead surprised her… it was Michael.

"I never expected to see you here again" she said, "So what brings you here?" Rachael crossed her arms

"Hey guys… got a second?" Michael asked

"That depends…" Rachael looked at him seriously

"You were right…" she looked at him oddly as he spoke

"What are you talking about?"

"I haven't been fair to everybody" he replied, "All I've been doing is feeling sorry for myself, I haven't been thinking about anyone else's feelings at all"

"Did something happen?" Alexis asked

"I overheard my parents talking to Leon's parents" Michael slowly began to clench his fist, "All I've been doing is hurting them… my mother, my father, Leon, and his family. My parents have endured enough with what happened that day and all I've been doing is making it worse for them"

"Bro…" Leon approached him

"I realize now how selfish I've been and I… I just can't keep doing that to them anymore"

"So what are you going to do about it?" Alexis asked

"I need to set things right" Michael replied

"And just how do you plan to do that?" Rachael asked, her arms still crossed

"You're probably not going to believe this… but I got an invitation to a DM tournament in about five months" Michael began to explain, "First place wins a good amount of prize money, if I can win it, I can help pay for a surgery that could possibly give my dad back the use of his legs"

"Are you serious…" Rachael didn't believe him, "Why would they give someone like you an invitation to a tournament?"

"He said it's his tournament, he can invite whomever he wishes" Michael said, "Believe me, I didn't believe it at first either, but he told me this is a once in a life time opportunity that he wouldn't pass up if he was me"

"What's the tournament being set to?" Rachael asked, "What rank is he using for this?"

"It's been set to A-Rank" Michael answered

"Bro, do you really think you can pull this off?" Leon asked

"I feel like I don't have a choice" Michael looked to him, "I feel like I owe it to everyone for being so stupid all these years"

"You do realize the chances of you winning this are like a million to one, right?" Rachael said bluntly

"Then there's still a chance…" Michael looked to Rachael, "You said it yourself… I can cry all I want, but unless I get off my butt and do something, nothing will ever change" Rachael began to tap her foot, "I know this tournament isn't going to fix everything… but win or lose, it's a start"

"You haven't played this game in four years and now you think you can compete with a bunch of A-Ranked players…"

"Say what you want… I don't care that they're A-Ranked or that I'm barely a grain above C-Rank" Michael said to her face, "They could be S-Ranked and I wouldn't care… I have a chance to put things right and to finally move on with my life, and I am going to take it!" the two glared at each other, "I'm not backing down, I don't care what it takes"

"If you need any help bro, I got your back" Leon said

"I'd like to help you however I can as well" Alexis offered

"You still got a spot open on the team, bro?" Michael asked

"Whoa whoa whoa" Rachael interjected, "Just what is in your head right now?"she seemed slightly annoyed, "You think that just because you got that invite you're good enough to compete-" she was cut off by Michael

"I've been out of this game for four years" he said, "and the tournament is in five months… I figure I should be using that time to get myself reacquainted with this game" Michael pulled out his old deck case, "Besides, if my bro wants me to help him on his team, I feel I owe it to him for being such an idiot for the last four years"

"Excuse me; you really think someone like you can make a difference for our team" Rachael got up in his face again, "If you want to do something than show me what you got"

"If that's your way of saying you want to duel… Bring it!" Michael stepped up and accepted her challenge

But before they could start their duel…

"Hey, stop it" a little boy cried out, both Rachael and Michael turned to see what was going on

There was a guy, around their age, picking on a boy who couldn't be any older than 7. He pushed the little boy to the ground and his cards scattered everywhere

"Aw, poor baby" he said rudely, "Did the poor baby fall down" Michael immediately ran over

"Leave the kid alone" he said to the bully

"And if I dont" the bully turned his attention to Michael

"He took the cards!" the little boy said, "My dad just got me those for my birthday"

Leon and Rachael stood next to Michael while Alexis helped the little boy to his feet

"How about a wager?" Michael's irritation was obvious in his voice

"I'm listening" the bully was always up for a bet

"I win and you give the kid back his cards and leave him alone"

"And if I win?" Michael reached into his back pack and pulled 3 sleeved cards out of a card binder

"How about these… Fair enough for you?" Michael showed Bolmeteus Steel Dragon, Genji Double Cross, Blastdragon, and Romanesk, the Dragon Wizard

"Wow… you're really gonna risk cards like those for that little brat?" the bully seemed in disbelief about the proposal

"What's wrong… you really gonna bitch out?" Michael said without a hint of worry in his voice, "Or do you really need to face someone half your size to be sure of a win, grow some balls!"

"Kettou Da!" the bully was clearly pissed off by Michael's taunts

"Yoshi" Michael gripped his deck case tightly, "Bring it on"

As the players took their places in the K-Terminal, Rachael tapped Leon on the shoulder

"If he can't beat this guy, then I don't think you should let him on the team" she said seriously, "I know he's your friend and everything but-"

"He won't lose" Leon replied, "Just watch, he might just surprise you"

"Deploy shields, Ikuzo!"

"Bring it on! Shields up!" Michael's shields materialized in front of him

Alright guys, call it

"I call tails" Michael said, not taking his eyes off of his opponent

Then heads for me

Alexis flipped the coin into the air, caught it in her hand and placed it on the back of her other hand. A moment later, she revealed the result.

"Tails, Michael you may choose"

"I'll start" Michael placed Tornado Flame into his mana zone and tapped it "I summon Deadly Fighter Braid Claw!"

Michael placed his card on the table, immediately; crystals came together and took on the shape of a humanoid dragon like creature with a large set of claws on one hand on Michael's side of the battle zone.

"My turn" the opponent drew his card and set Seamine into his mana, "I summon Aqua Guard"

"_A blocker… crap_" Michael thought

"Pff, you Fire civilization duelists are so predictable" he said as his creature appeared next to him, "Always charging in with your stupid swift attack attempts, next I suppose you'll try to summon something like Mini Titan Gett or try to go for something bigger and just boorishly rush in… How predictably stupid!" Michael gave him a frustrated glare for his comment

Rachael gave an annoyed growl as Michael looked at his hand. Brawler Zyler, La Ura Giga, Sky Guardian, and Kolon, the Oracle… none of them could get him past this blocker until next turn and he would lose his Braid Claw this turn. He drew his card and smirked as he set Kolon into his mana zone and tapped both.

"Come on, just summon your creature and make your pointless attack with-"

"I cast Crimson Hammer" Michael showed the card he just drew

"What the!" the opponent watched as Aqua Guard was blown into pixels of blue data

"Then I will attack your shields with Braid Claw, Ike!" he tapped his creature

Braid Claw leapt into the air, letting out a war cry as he shattered the opponent's shield into pieces. The corresponding card on the opponent's table was bounced into the air to be caught by its owner

"I end my turn" Michael smirked

"Tsh, punk" the opponent was clearly annoyed by his move

"That was a lucky draw" Alexis commented, "I wasn't aware he used Fire and Light together"

"Michael's two favorite civilizations" Leon nodded, "He's used that deck since we first started playing as kids"

"He got a lucky draw, but its only turn 2…" Rachael said plainly, "A lot can happen"

*Back at Michael's house*

"Lisa, have you seen Michael?" William asked

"He said he had some things to take care of today so he left about an hour or so ago… why?" Lisa looked to her husband

"Did he take anything with him?"

"I think in a back pack… why, is something missing?" Lisa wondered what was wrong

"Ever since the incident four years ago, I've been keeping all of his old dueling gear and cards… But now I can't seem to find them, they've gone missing" William answered

"And you think Michael might have taken them?"

"He has been acting a little strange for a couple of days"

"Do you think something happened to him?"

"I don't know…"

"Do you think he's started playing again?" Lisa wondered

*Back at the Duel Tower*

"Aqua Hulcus, evolve into Crystal Paladin" the bully placed his evolution creature into the battle zone as Aqua Hulcus obtained an evo crystal. Light enveloped it and a new centaur-like creature armed with a shield and sword arm stood ready to battle in its place

"Paladin, return his blockers and break his shield"

A light shined from Crystal Paladin's shield, returning both La Ura Giga and Senatine Jade Tree to Michael's hand and his own Aqua Guard. The Water creature charged and shattered one of Michael's shields with his blade, leaving him with three remaining

"Shield Trigger! Tornado Flame!" A raging whirlwind of flames enveloped the bully's other creature, Stained Glass, leaving Paladin by itself

Michael drew and set his sixth mana card.

"I summon Deadly Fighter Braid Claw"

"What can that weakling do to my Paladin?"

"Not him" Michael tapped four more mana, "I summon Rothus the Traveler!"

"Damn!" the bully growled, while the little boy just looked at Alexis, slightly confused

"Rothus the Traveler might not be big, but it forces players to send one of their creatures to the graveyard when it's summoned" she explained, "and since Crystal Paladin is the only creature he has left, guess who he has to choose…"

The bully reluctantly moved his creature to the grave, while Michael sent Braid Claw

"I end my turn"

The bully drew and charged mana

"I summon King Coral and Aqua Shooter"

Michael drew and charged mana also

"I summon Mini Titan Gett and evolve him into Armored Blaster Valdios" Michael's creatures appeared and ready to fight, "Valdios, double break shields now"

Michael's creature opened fire, but the opponent opted not to block. Valdios shattered two shields, leaving only one left. Yet he smirked at the sight of his two shields

"Shield Triggers: Aqua Jolter and Terror Pit" the Bully showed his cards

The Bully's creature appeared as large hands of darkness shot forth and grabbed Valdios, crushing him into red data

"Time to end this" the bully said as he drew his card and smirked, "King Coral, evolve into Legendary Bynor"

Mana crystals swirled and compressed into a single evo crystal, causing King Coral changed from a normal whale, to a colossal leviathan with 4 wings on its back. It opened its enormous mouth and let out a huge cry

"Legendary Bynor, Double Break his Shields, Ike!"

Bynor roared loudly and charged, smashing two of Michael's shields into pieces

"Game over, Aqua Jolter, break his last shie-"

"Shield Trigger! Holy Awe!" Michael revealed his spell

Beams of light shot forth and tapped the remaining creatures

"My turn" Michael drew, "Game over!" he smirked

"He's got to be bluffing" Rachael crossed her arms

"I'm not so sure" Alexis replied as Michael tapped seven mana

"I summon Twin Cannon Skyterror!" Michael's creature roared as it spread its wings

"Yep, game over" Leon said plainly

"Oh come on!" the bully screamed in great annoyance

"Sorry" Michael said sarcastically, "Twin Cannon, double break shields, Ike!"

The Armored Wyvern fired its cannons, shattering the last two shields. The bully desperately looked at his shields…

"Damn it!" the bully looked so irritated right now

"No Triggers?" Michael smirked "So sorry, Game Over!" he reached for his other creature, "Rothus the Traveler, Todomeda!"

"Speed Attackers…" Rachael smirked, "Gotta love them"

"Told ya he had this" Leon smiled

"Nice win" Alexis said

"We had a deal" Michael said, "Now that I've won, you will hold up your end and give him back his cards and leave him alone from now on"

"Oh, you mean these cards?" the guy pulled them out, "Here!" he said as he moved to rip them in half, only to be cut short by a sharp extreme pain. He suddenly dropped the cards and fell to the ground, grabbing his crotch area with Rachael standing right behind him

"Hmph!" Rachael smirked

"Oh, that's gotta hurt" Michael winced as Rachael picked up the boy's cards

"Normally, I'd say that she may have been kinda harsh, but I think he deserved that kick to the crotch" Alexis said as the bully was on the ground in pain

"Here you go, little boy" Rachael gave the boy back his cards

"Thank you" the boy smiled, "and thank you for beating him" he said to Michael

"You're welcome" he smiled, "What's your name?"

"I'm David, who are you?"

"I'm Michael, nice to meet you"

"Nice win bro" Leon placed his hand on his shoulder

"Agreed, you placed well" Alexis smiled and turned to Rachael

"Not bad for a rookie" Rachael crossed her arms, "He might not hold us back"

"I'll take that as a compliment" Michael replied

"I guess that's that then" Leon said, "Welcome to the team, bro"


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Alright bro, I summon Mini Titan Gett and Brawler Zyler." Michael tapped four of his five mana and summoned his creatures to the battle zone

"My turn." Leon drew and set his seventh, "I evolve Bronze-Arm Tribe into Fighter Dual Fang and add my top two cards to my mana."

An Evo crystal appeared and changed the Beast Kin into a might warrior with four arms and a large sword, the crystal embedded in the shield on its front left arm

"I summon Engineer Kipo" Leon tapped a nature and fire mana and summoned the machine eater, "Fighter Dual Fang, double break shields, Ike!"

"Senatine Jade Tree, block the attack!" Michael blocked the mighty beast's attack as his creature was smashed into yellow data, "My turn, I draw."

"Well, this is getting good." Rachael commented as she and Alexis watched the duel

"At this point, Leon has the advantage" Alexis analyzed the battle zone, Michael had four shields, was setting his sixth mana, and had three creatures: Mini Titan Gett, Brawler Zyler, and Dia Nork, Moonlight Guardian

Leon on the other hand had nine mana now, all five shields, and four creatures: Bronze-Arm Tribe, Fighter Dual Fang, Engineer Kipo, and Bombarsaur.

"I summon Immortal Baron Vorg and evolve him into Armored Blaster Valdios." Michael played his own evolution creature, "Valdios, Double break his shields, Ike!"

"Shield Trigger, Mana Crisis!" Leon sent one of Michael's Light mana to the grave

"Mini Titan Gett, break his shield" Michael tapped his creature, "Brawler Zyler, break his shield."

"Shield Trigger, Mana Nexus!" Leon moved Natural Snare from his mana to his shields

"I end my turn." Michael seemed slightly annoyed by the two triggers he hit and the fact that there was another in Leon's shields now

"I cast Enchanted Soil and place two cards from my grave to my mana zone." Leon moved his cards to their zones and tapped six more mana, "Then I summon Bolzard Dragon."

"Oh shoot" Michael said with annoyance as Leon's creature appeared

"He's after Michael's mana." Alexis said as the dragon roared

"Fighter Dual Fang, attack Valdios." Leon tapped his creature

"Dia Nork, move to block" Michael tapped his blocker

"Engineer Kipo, attack Brawler Zyler" the two creatures collided and destroyed one another, "I think you know what happens now bro."

"I know, we both have to send a mana card to the grave."

"Bombarsaur, attack Mini Titan Gett" the fire creature roared and smashed its opponent into red data, "And I'll break a shield with Bronze-Arm Tribe"

"My turn" Michael drew and charged mana, bringing his count back to six, "I summon La Ura Giga, Fighter Braid Claw, and Rothus the Traveler" the three creatures appeared, "I destroy Braid Claw"

"Bad move, bro." Leon smirked, "I destroy Bombarsaur."

"Idiot." Rachael chuckled as both Michael and Leon sent two mana cards to the grave

"Darn it, I forgot that thing did that." Michael face palmed himself

"You're a good duelist bro, but I think you've been out of the game too long." Leon smiled, "You're a bit rusty."

"I end my turn." Michael frowned

"I cast Mana Crisis, I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe and evolve into Barkwhip, the Smasher" Leon cast his spells and sent another mana card to Michael's grave, "Bolzard Dragon, double break shields and send another mana card to the grave."

"La Ura Giga, block it"

"Barkwhip, the Smasher, break shield" Leon's creature smashed another shield, "Fighter Dual Fang, double break shields"

"Shield Trigger, Kolon the Oracle!" Michael revealed his card, "I tap Bronze-Arm Tribe"

"I draw" Michael already knew what one of Leon's shields were, but he just might be able to win. He had a double breaker and two other creatures, even if one got snared my the Natural Snare, he would have one other to win it

"Well, here goes something" Michael decided to just go for it, "Valdios, double break his shields, Ike!"

"Shield Trigger, Natural Snare."

"I still got this-" Michael stopped when Leon revealed the card behind his trigger

"A second Natural Snare?" Alexis said, Michael sighed in defeat Kolon and Braid Claw were ensnared in roots and changed into mana crystals

"He had two Natural Snares… oh well, saved him this game." Rachael crossed her arms

"I end my turn." Michael knew it was over

"Good game bro." Leon said as he reached for his creature, "Bolzard Dragon, todomeda"

"Good game Leon."

"Dude, he got owned that game." Rachael said as they shook hands

"Mana is vital." Alexis replied, "If you take it away, a player can't do much."

"So bro, what's the name of this team?" Michael asked

"I was thinking about… Team Ryusie…" Leon answered

"Team Ryusie?"

"Ryusie means shooting star." Alexis replied

"Shooting Star?" Michael raised his eyebrow

"How can you watch anime and not now these things?" Leon replied, Michael frowned

"So, how does this whole team dueling thing work?" Michael asked, "How do we get to the next rank? And how do we-" Rachael cut him off mid sentence

"Ok, first things first…" she said, "You do know how the Rank system works right?"

"Yeah, I think D-Rank is sets 1-5, C-Rank is 6-13, B-Rank is 14-23, and A-Rank is 24-39" Michael answered

"There is a C-Ranked tournament coming in a couple of months and we need to get 50 points to qualify." Alexis added, "Because we've just set up our team, our Rank is D. Our personal ranks don't matter."

"At the tournament, we'll be using C-Rank decks and if we win, we'll advance to C-Rank" Leon explained

"So we need 50 points to get into the tournament?" Michael asked

"Yeah, since we only have four team members…" Leon did the math, "That'll be at least 12 wins each, plus 2 more from anyone."

"And we got a little over three months to do this." Rachael added

"Doesn't sound too hard." Michael shrugged his shoulders, "and then comes my A-Rank tournament... gotta finish building my deck for that."

"That reminds me…" Leon said, "Where did you get those cards from the other day?"

"Romanesk, Bometeus, and Genji Double Cross are rare cards and aren't easy to come by…" Rachael added, "Where did you get those anyway?"

"After I got my invitation from Edward, I stopped by some shops" Michael explained, "I bought some packs and managed to pack Bolmeteus"

"And how did you get the other two?" Rachael asked

"Romanesk and Genji? I bought those individually…"

"I bet that cost quite a bit of allowance." Leon commented

"Don't get me started bro… Took forever to find them too." Michael replied

"So, I take it your deck for the tournament is going to be a Fire, Light, and Nature deck?" Alexis wondered

"Yeah, I have a basic idea of what I want to do… Fire and Light have always been my favorite and I've been playing against Nature for a long time, I know how handy it is." He looked over at Leon

"If you need a hand, please don't hesitate to ask." Alexis smiled

"Thanks Alexis" Michael finished packing up his cards, "Hey, mind if I ask what your guy's ranks are?"

"I'm an A-Rank duelist" Alexis answered

"Ditto" Rachael shrugged her shoulders as a light shined from her deck case and a small Bolshack Dragon appeared on her shoulder

"No surprise there Rachael." it said

"Is that your avatar?" he asked

"This is Kei" Rachael answered as Alcadeias appeared on Alexis'

"My name is Sereo" Alcadeias said

"I almost forgot about the Avatar system" Michael said

"Have you decided on yours yet bro?" Leon asked

"No, I haven't…" Michael looked through the cards in his deck

"Well, now that you're a member of the team, you might want to figure that out real quick." Rachael crossed her arms

"Well, we gotta be getting home." Michael said as Leon walked next to him, "See you girls at school tomorrow."

"See you both tomorrow." Alexis waved good bye

"Later guys." Rachael said as the boys left

"So bro, have you figured out what kind of deck you plan to use for that A-Ranked tournament?" Leon asked as they headed home

"I have a basic idea of what I want to do with it…" Michael looked up at the sky, "I figure a Fire and Light build with Nature for mana support"

"I figured you would use Nature with your usual Fire and Light setup after I saw Romanesk" Leon said, "But what else do you think you want to use…?"

"I'm not really sure…" Michael thought about it

"Well, since you have Genji, Bolmeteus, and Romanesk… I figure you might have a dragon setup with Cocco Lupia." Leon shared his thoughts

"Yeah, that would make sense…" Michael pondered what else might work, "I need to figure out what else to put in this… some kind of a trump card… maybe an evolution creature?"

"Yeah, like a Dragon… or maybe a Fire/Light creature…" Leon thought about possible A-Ranked cards

"Or both…" Michael thought

"I have an idea…" Leon turned to Michael, "We can always try different builds on TCO."

"TCO?" Michael looked at him strangely

"Trading Cards Online…" Leon translated, "They have every trading card game you can imagine on there." He explained, "I'll show it to you tonight."

"And we can try different cards on there?" Michael asked

"Yeah, it's free to join…" Leon assured him, "We can get you setup there and experiment with different ideas and deck builds"

"I like the sound of that…" Michael smiled in approval, "I've been out of the game so long… this should really help, especially if I want to even stand a chance against these guys…"

"Don't worry bro…" Leon placed his hand on his shoulder, "We got your back" the brothers smiled and fist bumped one another


End file.
